A GRIMSBY man left his elderly step-father to rely on the charity of a nursing home after gaining access to his bank accounts and stealing almost £25,000.
Grimsby Crown Court heard Jonathan Grogan, 38, of Cross Coates Road, had assumed control of accounts belonging to Byron Marriott, 79, after he suffered a major stroke on April 24, 2009.
Zaiban Alam, prosecuting, said following the stroke, Mr Marriott was unable to resume independent living and moved into Ashlea Court nursing home, in Waltham, on July 7, 2009.
Grogan signed an arrangement that stated the local authority would meet the majority of the cost of his care, but the family would pay a "top-up".
However, Miss Alam told the court
that as of January 2011, "not a single penny had been paid" towards the £4,357.28 outstanding fees and Mr Marriott's clothing was "largely being provided for by the care home as an act of charity".
She added that in the meantime Mr Marriott's "bank accounts and credit card were looted" by Grogan, who transferred large sums into different accounts and even took out a £1,000 loan in his step-father's name, which he never repaid.
The money – which amounted to a total of £24,717.37 – was then withdrawn in cash.
The alarm was raised when Mr Marriott's solicitor Mike Siddle, was informed by Grogan's brother James, he intended to hand over his step-father's house to Grogan.
He applied for a court of protection order to safeguard his client's legal position and suggested Grogan be named as proposed receiver.
But, despite repeated requests for Mr Marriott's bank statements and other financial documents, Grogan failed to supply them.
Mr Siddle became suspicious and successfully applied to be named as receiver on the order himself, at which point he raised his concerns with health care workers, who called in the police.
On his arrest, Grogan repeatedly blamed his brother for the thefts and only changed his plea to guilty after a trial had been arranged and the weight of evidence held by the prosecution became apparent.
Richard Hackfath, mitigating, said his client had no previous convictions and had now "lost his good name in spectacular fashion".
He added the father-of-two had not been "living the high life" but had used the money to meet the living expenses of his family while he had been unemployed and was full of remorse for his actions.
Jailing him for 27 months, of which he will serve half on licence, Judge David Tremberg said: "Within weeks (of the stroke) you embarked upon a calculated, persistent, systematic and relatively sophisticated course of conduct designed to take funds for your benefit.
"In my judgement, this was in breach of a high degree of trust."
